Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow

I love Freya and Paul's food blog, Writing at the Kitchen Table. Usually Freya is up to trouble in the kitchen, the curious cat in the family, accentuating unique ingredients with approachable recipes. She always serves up food that is both daring and delicious, matched exquisitely with clever, revelatory, and confessional writing. We struck an early friendship - our common bond: the bold, no-nonsence, and stirring Queen of the Seasons, Tamasin Day-Lewis. Once we even challenged each other to a Tamasin Tart Bake-off: Freya made a gorgeous Spinach and Anchovy Tart, and I made a Bakewell Tart...and then we stopped, so I suppose we should have another round, eh Freya? And then there is lovely Paul, baker par excellence...I don't know what happened to a different bread every week, for it got off to a promising start. He regales his blogosphere audience with anecdotes of Americana and his penchant for margaritas. In addition to these many great qualities, Freya and Paul give me hope, having also once lived bi-continentally, they can now drive each other mad under the same roof...I read their blogs as much to see what they are up to together, to reimagine my quotidien life with my angelheart Eric.

I was going to say "all sentimentality aside", but Paul's Big Burger Ballyhoo concerns a food subject most westerners would bare their soul for: the perfect burger. Having never tasted a burger I thought was unimprovable, I decided it could not hurt to - and that I should - participate in Paul's food blog event.

Of course a problem was immediately presented: What on earth was I going to do that is so different, that is worth Paul and Freya making themselves? The notion of bi-continentalism appealed, leading to thoughts of creating a mongrel/imperial whore burger. I gave up on pulling from all continents and decided to leave out my own heritage (I am only a 3rd generation Kiwi on both sides of the family - a little Irish, Croatian and Swedish here, fused with some English and Spanish there and you get the sum of my parts). I thought back to the Arabic Coffee Pots de Creme I made last year and how I am still in love with the combination of cardamom and coffee. But I had no cardomom pods. This is what I came up with:

Cumin Burger with Peanut Coffee Sauce

For the sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup full-fat milk
1 tablespoon coffee beans, finely ground
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 small clover garlic, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes

For the burger:
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
500g/1lb ground beef
250g/ 1/2lb ground pork
5 egg yolks
1 tablespoon steak sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
kosher salt
pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

hamburger buns
toppings of choice (I went with shredded lettuce and slices of processed cheese because that is what my parents had in the fridge at the time)

Begin with sauce because you need to let it steep for at least 30 minutes.
1) In a saucepan, scald 1/2 cup of full-fat milk with the coffee beans and cinnamon.
2) Off the heat, cover with a lid and let steep.
3) In a separate bowl, add the rest of the ingredients except the remaining 1/4 cup of milk.
4) Using a strainer, pour the coffee and cinnamon milk into the bowl with the other ingredients. A strainer is advisable to separate out the clumps of coffee and cinnamon that have bonded while steeping.
5) Combine with a whisk, slowly adding in the remaining 1/4 cup of milk until you have reached a desired consistency. The coffee beans will not be problematic; you won't notice them when you eat. Keep chilled, and bring it to room temperature when you are thinking about spreading it over your buns.

To make the burgers:
1) In a bowl, combine all ingredients but the butter with the tines of a fork. The salt and pepper usage is up to you, for it is only seasoning. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper.
2) Once combined form into patty shapes in your hands, about the size of your palm.
3) Make an indent at the centre of the patty and inset a little nub of butter, then enclose it. The butter keeps the patty moist, a trick I learned from Ina Garten's television show Barefoot Contessa.
4) Chill for at least 30 minutes to hold together, then bring out for 10 minutes or so before grilling.
5) Grill the patties to your preference, about 6 minutes on one side, then 4 minutes on the other.

You can assemble the burger any way that pleases you, of course, but try spreading the Peanut Coffee Sauce on both halves of the burger buns.

I did not grill these outside, Paul. I'm sorry, but it is raining here in Auckland, so I grilled them in spirit - i.e. in a frying pan in the kitchen. Living in different time zones make the international food blogs a bit trying, but if my calculations are correct, I am submitting this as of 8:35pm on 25th of May PST. And in your honor, Paul, I'm going to scoff these with a good margarita.

Happy Big Burger Ballyhoo 2007!

Labels: Big Burger Ballyhoo, Coffee